Look up at the Sky
by littlespider
Summary: Brave 10 Alternate Ending. Just when Saizo is beginning to feel unusually comfortable, it becomes apparent that Sasuke didn't walk away from that last fight unscathed. WARNING: death fic!


Just a little insert to the end of _Brave 10_. I'm not really sure where this came from. At first I just wanted to make sure we didn't waste the amazing Sasuke whump material provided by whatever bug it was he ingested. But then... well, you'll have to read and see!

Disclaimer: Brave 10 and its characters do not belong to me. If they did, the ending wouldn't have been so cheesy.

* * *

Lord Yukimura looked up briefly from his work attending to the rather nasty and swollen series of bites on Kakei's calf. He looked around the complex, taking in sight of his bedraggled and injured braves. Across the courtyard, Rokuro was helping Isanami and Saizo tend to their wounds, while in the next room over Yuri was resting. Benmaru and the large monk had already tended to each others wounds and the boy was up and about in the kitchen making some rice to fill the tired warriors' stomachs.

"My lord." A quiet voice at spoke at his elbow, and Yukimura looked down to see Sasuke kneeling beside him, a tray with two steaming tea-cups balanced in his one good hand. With one arm still in a sling Sasuke couldn't help with bandaging the others, but Yukimura was not surprised in the least that the young shinobi had found another way of being useful.

Yukimura took both cups, handing one to Kakei before taking a sip of his own. He could immediately tell this wasn't a Rokuro cup of tea; there was a slightly more earthy taste to it that indicated Sasuke had braved the kitchen and brewed the tea himself. "Thank you, Sasuke. How are the others?"

"They are well, my lord," Sasuke replied, shifting slightly in his crouched position to reposition his injured arm. "Surprisingly, most of their injuries were minor, even Saizo's. Nothing was deep enough to be life threatening."

Kakei scoffed slightly, reclining back on his elbows and stretching his injured leg out in front of him. "Figures, doesn't it Sasuke? The others would face real foes with weapons, while you and I were taken out by bugs."

Lord Yukimura chuckled at his subordinate's bitter tone, but stopped when Sasuke began to cough harshly at his side. "Sasuke, have your wounds been tended to?"

His cough subsiding, Sasuke shook his head and stood, tucking the tea tray under his good arm. "There was no need, my lord. I was not injured. If you both will remain here, I will return with something for you to eat."

Yukimura watched his young shinobi leave suspiciously. By nature, Sasuke was quiet and unassuming; that was part of what made him such a fine ninja. But growing up the young man had tended to downplay any injuries and sickness, either treating himself in private or pushing his body to the point of collapse. Just a year ago, Sasuke had returned home from an assignment with two untreated bullet holes in his back but with the requested intel. Yukimura had ripped into him that time, reminding him that he was not some faceless shinobi for hire, but a Sanada shinobi raised by his Lord himself. Yukimura had informed Sasuke that unless he started taking better care of himself, he would be stripped of his duties as captain of the squad and confined to compound as a servant. Such drastic measured had seemed to get through to Sasuke and there were no further incidents.

Yukimura just hoped the boy wasn't prone to falling back on bad habits.

"He's not a child anymore, you know," Kakei spoke lightly, breaking the silence that had settled in the room. "And he's not lying. That insect happy bitch barely laid a scratch on him."

"I know," Yukimura answered gruffly, feeling pride warm his chest.

* * *

Saizo lounged on one of the roofs of the compound, gazing up at the bright moon overhead. Isanami had snuck in to sleep in his room again and between her semi-conscious attempts to roll continuously closer to his side, Saizo had been kept awake by the thoughts racing through his head.

Saizo was really starting to feel attached to these stupid people, to Lord Yukimura who manipulated them without even trying, his shadow Rokuro, and all of the other Braves. Yes, Isanami had forced her way into his heart and he considered himself almost helpless to do anything but protect her now. But Saizo had realized something, as they had limped back to the castle together and tended to each other's injuries; Saizo had realized that he trusted these people as he hadn't trusted anyone in years and that he was more than willing to lay his life down for anything of them.

Even that damn Koga shinobi.

As if his thoughts had summoned the damn monkey, Saizo was suddenly aware of a presence behind him. Turning his head slightly, sure enough he found Sasuke running lightly up the backside of the roof toward him. Saizo didn't say anything when the young man approached, perching lightly on topmost row of roof tiles. Instead he waited for Sasuke to speak, knowing this would annoy the Koga shinobi to no ends.

Sasuke gave in after nearly two minutes of silence, a slight grunt the only outward sign of his annoyance. "So this is where you've been hiding. You should be resting, your wounds were quite serious."

"Who said I was hiding?" Saizo snapped, his voice sharper than he had intended. He almost swore he could hear the message behind Sasuke's words: _You shouldn't go running off when you're wounded. I was worried._ Saizo didn't want the younger man to be nice to him. It seemed too out of character and complicated Saizo's thoughts even more. Taking a deep breath, he tried to pull himself together. "I just needed a bit of fresh air. Isanami can be… stifling."

Sasuke didn't say anything, but nodded minutely in response. Saizo actually had to suppress a wince when he realized that here he was, the unwilling object of the priestess's affection, complaining to a young man who clearly liked the girl. Saizo wasn't blind; he'd seen the way Sasuke looked at Isanami.

Before Saizo could figure out what to say next, Sasuke tensed beside him, a series of harsh coughs wracking his frame. The swordsman watched, frowning slightly in concern as the young man brought a hand up to press firmly against his mouth, face screwed up in a grimace. That was when Saizo noticed the cool night breeze blowing past them and through the trees. The weather was starting to turn cold with the seasons and even a stubborn Koga shinobi like Sasuke could get sick after days of pushing himself.

"Oi, go get some rest," Saizo all but ordered, listening as the young man's coughing slowed to a rasping wheeze. "If it's the watch you're worried about, I can take over from here. I'm not so wounded that I can't do what you can with only one good arm."

Surprisingly, Sasuke didn't argue. Instead, Saizo's concern shot up a notch when the young shinobi turned to leave and another coughing fit took hold, the force of it causing him to double over at the waist. These coughs were different than before, sounding wet and deep in his chest. Saizo watched as Sasuke staggered slightly before slumping to the side and he barely got there in time to prevent the younger man from falling off the roof.

"Sasuke!" Saizo gripped the young shinobi's shoulders as he gave one final hacking cough. There was a strange squelching sound like a suction release and Sasuke pulled his hand back from his mouth to stare in dazed horror at the blood now dripping from his fingers. It took all of Saizo's resolve not to pull away in disgust as he watched more of the red liquid run down Sasuke's chin from his mouth. What was this?

Pulling the now semi-conscious Sasuke more securely into his arms, Saizo hurriedly jumped down from the roof. He landed a bit awkwardly, the young man a heavy burden in his arms, but as soon as he was up, Saizo took off running for the main house.

"Lord Yukimura!" Saizo called, trying to ignore his growing panic. Damn it, why did he have to care so much? "Lord Yukimura, we need you!"

Footsteps pounded over the raised wooden floor as both Yukimura and Rokuro ran out to meet Saizo, pulling robes on over their sleeping attire. Yukimura took one look at the motionless Sasuke in the warrior's arms and his face paled considerably. "What happened?"

Saizo shook his head. "I'm not sure, sir. We were just talking and-"

Sasuke suddenly seemed to come back to life, simultaneously shoving Saizo off of him and throwing himself forward. Caught off guard, the dark haired swordsman dropped Sasuke, who landed hard on his knees and good hand, coughing violently. Yukimura and Rokuro raced to his side in time to see the young man retch a shocking amount of blood onto the ground.

Yukimura stopped short. "Is that… blood?"

Saizo nodded, reaching out to support Sasuke as the redhead began to fall forward in exhaustion. "This is what happened before, although there wasn't nearly as much as this."

Glancing briefly at his lord, who for once seemed immobilized in shock, Rokuro stepped forward to help Saizo lift Sasuke's limp body. At the rate the young man was growing, he'd be the height of those trees he was so fond of climbing. "Alright, let's get him inside."

* * *

Yukimura sighed tiredly, leaning down to place a cool cloth on a subordinate's forehead for the second time in days. Sasuke was laid out on his futon, a blood-spotted handkerchief lying crumpled by his head. His eyes were closed and face pale, but what worried Yukimura most was the wet, rasping sound of Sasuke's breathing and the fact that each rasping cough caused fresh blood to well up in the back of his throat.

"I don't understand," Saizo spoke quietly from his hunched over position by the door. Despite his constant insistence that he didn't care and had no need for a team, the Iga warrior had yet to leave. "Sasuke never showed any signs that he was ill."

"Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that he wasn't sick." Rokuro answered, frowning down at the young man he had watched grow up. "Sasuke is quite adept at hiding his pain."

Yukimura shifted uncomfortably, praying to whatever kami was listening that this wasn't an illness Sasuke had been hiding from them. He knew of only one such illness that caused people to cough blood and if that's really what this was, there wasn't much they could do for the young man. He would simply have to be quarantined and made as comfortable as possible.

"Lord Yukimura!" Kakei burst out, breathing heavily as he stumbled into the room. He quickly looked over Sasuke, a dark look passing over his scarred face. "What happened? I heard Saizo screaming…"

In the corner of the room, Saizo murmured gruffly, something about how he didn't scream because screaming was for little girls. Ordinarily, Yukimura would have chuckled, but now he pressed his lips into a grim line, not missing the fact that Kakei's gait was uneven. "You should be resting that leg."

"Damn my leg!" Kakei ground out, limping further into the room to sit by Sasuke's side. "What's wrong with Sasuke?"

Rokuro sighed. "He's been coughing up blood and collapsed. If Saizo hadn't been with him, who knows what might have happened."

Kakei sent the swordsman a brief yet thankful look before refocusing on Sasuke's flushed face. Coughing up blood? But Sasuke hadn't been ill in months. Was it a delayed effect from their battle with that bug queen? Wait, her bugs…

Everything seemed to click into place and Kakei hung his head in shame. "Damn."

"What is it?" Yukimura demanded, his normally jovial tone stressed. "If you know what this is, then speak!"

Kakei hesitated only briefly. "When we were fighting that rogue shinobi, the one with the bugs, she… did something to Sasuke. Said she'd put a parasite inside his body."

The whole room stilled, the almost undetectable hissing of the lantern mingling with the sound of Sasuke's strained breathing. Rokuro stiffened. "A parasite?"

"Why didn't either of you say something earlier?" Yukimura wanted to know, his voice cutting.

Kakei closed his eyes briefly in embarrassment and self-disgust. "Isanami's eclipse seemed to throw off the bugs and they all disappeared once we killed the shinobi. Sasuke seemed completely fine, so I assumed that the parasite had vanished as well."

Yukimura couldn't bring himself to yell at his long-time subordinate. He had seen the coughing as well and hadn't confronted Sasuke about it either. Nobody was to blame but that damn bug woman. Taking a controlling breath, Yukimura turned to his aid and bodyguard.

"What do you think, Rokuro? Is this something we can treat?"

Rokuro frowned, thinking. "Hopefully. I can think of a few things that may help to prevent the parasite from spreading any further and causing any more damage. But as for the damage that has already been done…"

"I see." Yukimura sighed, running a hand over his scruffy face and suddenly feeling very much the old man his warriors seemed to think he was. "Well, do what you can."

"Of course, my lord." Rokuro was already leaving the room, quiet and unassuming as ever.

Yukimura lasted all of another two minutes sitting at Sasuke's side. He rose suddenly, his rumbled robe dragging on the floor. "Damn it. Saizo, Kakei, stay with Sasuke."

Both warriors looked up at their lord, surprised. "Lord Yukimura?"

"Like hell I can sit around and do nothing," Yukimura replied, sliding open the door. "I'm going to go look through my library and see if there is any information that we can use to treat this. Keep a close eye on him."

The door slid shut, leaving the two warriors in the dim room with Sasuke's prone figure. Saizo almost immediately felt his muscles begin to twitch with the urge to leave, to escape from the enclosed space where Sasuke's labored breathing sounded so loud. In an attempt to distract himself, Saizo glanced around the room, trying to discern anything about its occupant. As far as Saizo was aware, Sasuke had been in Yukimura's service nearly as long as Rokuro, so it was only logical he would have a room in the Ueda castle. And yet Saizo had always assumed he slept out in the forest with his animal friends.

For the most part, Saizo's assumption appeared to be correct. Sasuke's room was smaller than the one Saizo currently occupied, and aside from the green bedding that matched the fabric of Sasuke's clothing, there weren't any visible personal items. There was a short chest to one side of the room, and if the rest of the room was any indicator, Saizo was sure that all he would find there if he were to look would be extra clothing and maybe a few of the young Koga shinobi's shuriken. Of course, such was the life of a shinobi; Saizo himself only owned what he could carry on his back. Still, he found it slightly odd that Sasuke had lived in one place nearly his whole life without accumulating any apparent material possessions.

The swordsman was broken out of his revery when Sasuke's steady wheeze was interrupted by a cough. The sound immediately turned wet, almost like a gurgling in the back of his throat. By his side, Kakei was frozen in horror. "Sasuke…"

"Oi, lift him up or he'll choke to death!" Saizo ordered, hurrying over and performing the required action himself. His breathing easing slightly, Sasuke continued to cough harshly until the blockage of blood worked its way up his throat, splattering red from his mouth all over his comforter. Saizo felt Kakei flinch beside him, but ignored him in favor of calmly lifting the already bloodstained handkerchief to wipe at the remaining blood rolling down Sasuke's chin.

As strange as it sounded, the sight of Sasuke's blood actually calmed him. Saizo was a warrior; he was familiar with blood, knew how to deal with it. Blood didn't scare him like the thought of flesh eating insects embedding themselves in Sasuke's body.

Pushing the thought out of his mind, he turned angrily to Kakei. "What was that about? Do you want Sasuke to die before Rokuro even gets a chance to treat him?"

Saizo was surprised to see that Kakei was actually shaking, leaning forward so that his hands were pressed into his knees and his dark hair fell forward, covering his face. His voice was strained when he finally spoke. "I am sorry. It will not happen again."

Lowering the now quiet Sasuke back onto the futon, Saizo sighed. He knew that tone: it was guilt. The scarred man had been Sasuke's comrade in battle and now felt guilty for failing to recognize the severity of his friend's injuries. Vaguely, Saizo was aware he should probably say something to reassure the other man, but emotions were not his speciality. So he simply sunk into a more comfortable sitting position near Sasuke's head, waiting for the confession he was sure would come.

"This is all my fault," Kakei murmured, and Saizo was grateful that he didn't seem to be looking for a response. "I was the one who treated him when we got back. He'd reopened his shoulder wound but I didn't- I never-"

"You're right, this is entirely your fault." Saizo stated bluntly, causing Kakei to look up at him in shock. The swordsman shrugged, making his sarcasm more clear. "What do you want me to say to you? Sasuke is a grown man. If he was feeling off he was more than capable of speaking up for himself."

Kakei frowned down at the Sasuke's face, watching his brow twitch minutely in apparent discomfort. "A grown man, huh?"

Saizo was well aware that in reality, Sasuke was still young, probably no more than a few years older than Isanami. But he stuck by his assessment. "If he's old enough to wield weapons with the skill he has and kill in the service of his lord, then yes, he is a grown man."

It was nearly another half hour of tense semi-silence before Yukimura returned with a thick scroll, followed shortly by Rokuro. The purple haired aid carried with him a small tea pot and cup, which Yukimura eyed with cautious hope.

"Is that it?"

"I believe this will be enough to kill off the parasite. Hold him up for me," Rokuro instructed, pouring a thick, purplish liquid into the cup he carried.

"You're treating him with tea?" Saizo asked snarkily, though he moved forward and raised Sasuke into an semi-sitting position as requested.

Rokuro answered in the same measured tone he always used, apparently unphased by the Iga warrior's cutting sarcasm. "The tea is simply to cut the poison."

Before he could register what he was doing, Saizo's hand came down over the lip of the tea cup as Rokuro raised it Sasuke's mouth, blocking his path. "What? You honestly think his body can handle _poison_ right now?"

"This is the poison from Sasuke's poison vine technique," Rokuro said, fixing Saizo with a hard look. "He has been exposed to this countless times, so I do not anticipate his body will react negatively to it. The parasite, however, will have no such tolerance."

Behind his aid, Yukimura nodded thoughtfully. "I see. The parasite will die if it continues to eat away at Sasuke's body. Saizo, that's enough."

Reluctantly, Saizo removed his hand from the cup and watched Rokuro murmure quietly to a semi-conscious Sasuke. After a minute or two the injured shinobi had managed to drink the whole cup, finishing off the last sip with a slight grimace.

"How do we know if it worked?" Kakei asked tensely, watching Saizo lower Sasuke back down onto his futon.

"We'll have to wait and see if his symptoms progress," Rokuro replied. "So far the damage seems to be localized to his lungs, which is causing the coughing."

Now Yukimura spoke up, raising the scroll in his hand slightly. "There was only one parasite in my medical collection that resembled Sasuke's symptoms. This says that it initially weakens its host by attacking the lung tissue, but that it actually wants to keep the host alive for as long as possible. After the lungs the bug moves on to the muscle tissue, the digestive system, and finally the heart. If it progresses that far..."

The young lord trailed off, though it was clear that what he left unsaid. If they hadn't caught the parasite in time, there was no hope for Sasuke.

* * *

Saizo was woken by a strangled moaning followed by one wet cough. Blinking several times to clear the sleep from his gaze, the Iga shinobi immediately became alert. Sasuke still lay under his comforter, apparently sleeping, yet Saizo could see his pain and discomfort in the tense lines of his body. At his side, a dozing Lord Yukimura sat, head resting against one raised knee. Yukimura had long ago sent Kakei back to his own room to rest his injuries and had taken his turn at the side of his weakened captain of the guard. He hadn't bothered to ask Saizo to leave, which left Saizo concerned that not only was he starting to care too much, but that care was becoming too obvious to others.

"'izo."

Sasuke's slurred murmur of his name had Saizo rising from his position near the door and approaching his fallen companion. Reaching reflexively for the already bloodied handkerchief, the dark haired shinobi spoke softly. "Sasuke. How do you feel?"

The Koga shinobi's normally bright gold eyes were dulled slightly by pain, but he rested them on Saizo nonetheless. "Stifled. I… do not remember the last time I was inside this long."

Saizo smirked; that was something he could believe. He glanced briefly at his sleeping employer, then decided not to wake him. He also decided to give into the fond, brotherly feeling that was coming to define his relationship with the younger shinobi. "Anything I can do to help?"

Opening his mouth to answer, Sasuke broke into a several choking coughs. Yukimura stirred by his side, but did not wake. Gradually, the young man regained control of himself, his voice breathy and more blood welling up at one corner of his mouth. "You could… help me outside. I would like see the sky."

The answer wasn't entirely unexpected. Saizo glanced outside though the slightly open door as a gentle breeze ruffled the leaves of the tree in the courtyard. The temperature was mild and there didn't seem to be any threat of rain. A short trip outside couldn't possibly hurt Sasuke; Saizo was pretty sure that staying inside would actually be more harmful for the nature-obsessed shinobi. He gave no answer, just a short nod before pulling back Sasuke's comforter and helping the younger man to rise slowly.

The two shinobi made their way outside very slowly; Sasuke's legs were weak and Saizo was forced to take most of his weight. Saizo sat them down on the edge of the lawn so they could rest their backs against the lip of the raised porch, the young Koga shinobi on his right. Although the kid was very much still that same annoyingly loyal monkey he'd first met in the woods, Saizo had to admit that the position felt right. Like this was finally somewhere he could belong, always by Sasuke's side.

They sat in silence for several minutes, but this time it was different. The air was light and easy rather than being choked with tension and Saizo found himself relaxing slightly as he watched a flock of birds pass overhead. The overall mood was so peaceful that the Iga shinobi found himself with a very uncharacteristic urge to make nice small talk.

"It's beautiful today."

At his side, Sasuke hummed a soft response. "Hm."

Sasuke's owl hooted in apparent agreement from the roof of the building, making Saizo roll his eyes. Damn Koga and his animals. "It feels like an omen, doesn't it? As though the whole world senses our victory. Don't you think, Sasuke?"

There was no answer. Dark hair blowing slightly in the breeze, Saizo suddenly became very aware of the increased pressure at his side, at Sasuke's more dramatically slouched posture against his arm. There was still no answer.

"Sasuke?"

Saizo leaned away from the younger man slightly and gave a cry of surprise when Sasuke simply slumped forward. "Oi!"

Scooting around on his knees to the front of his younger friend, Saizo grasped Sasuke's shoulders to keep him upright and pressed two fingers to his neck, searching for a pulse. To his horror, Saizo found none. He frantically raised a hand in front of Sasuke's mouth, but was met by no soft exhalation of breath. Saizo made a strangled sound in his own throat and released Sasuke's shoulders, allowing the body to slump forward until it landed against his chest in an awkward embrace.

Saizo couldn't understand how this was happening. No. It was wrong. Sasuke… the kid hadn't even gotten up the courage to tell Isanami he liked her yet! He hadn't finished annoying Saizo, taunting him and worming his way into the previously impenetrable shinobi's heart. He couldn't… couldn't be…

"Sasuke!"

When Yukimura stumbled out of the empty room a minute later, finally roused by Saizo's heartbroken cry, he found his two shinobi still in their semi-embrace. Although Saizo's face had already shut down under his emotionless mask, he still had yet to move from the position. Sasuke's body remained pressed against his front, the younger man's head resting on one shoulder and golden eyes forever frozen in their final position, looking up at the sky.


End file.
